John Coates on lesser-known facts about cell-phone radiation & SAR
A well-engineered case reduces near-body exposure by enforcing correct orientation and better habits. It cannot repair a system held to heat-only, 1996-era limits, preempted local voices, and stalled federal obligations. We fight to update the rules and pivot indoor connectivity to light — while helping you protect your family today.
No percentage claims. Real-life reduction = orientation + antenna behavior + duty cycle.
1) The current guidelines were never proven biologically safe. U.S. limits were set in the 1990s to prevent heating (SAR), not to protect biology from pulsed, modulated signals that run day and night. They do not account for simultaneous radios, real-world duty cycle, poor-signal power ramps, or children’s physiology. That’s why you can comply with the number and still overload biology.
2) They already lost in court. In 2021, the D.C. Circuit ruled the FCC’s decision to keep 1996 limits “arbitrary and capricious” for failing to address non-thermal effects and children, and remanded it. Translation: the nation’s official answer was not good enough and must be redone with real biology in view. See our FCC page.
3) The preponderance of research points to biological risk. Oxidative-stress is the universal warning light for diseased tissue. The literature shows a strong majority of RF studies reporting oxidative effects at non-thermal intensities (e.g., 93/100; updates ~95%). That’s what “preponderance of the evidence” looks like — and it lines up with a mechanistic pathway we already understand.
Bottom line: a heat-only number from 1996 cannot adjudicate today’s pulsed, multi-radio, always-on exposures. The guideline failed in court; the weight of evidence is biological; the mechanism is clear. Policy must catch up — while we use engineered habits and better indoor tech (Li-Fi) to lower dose right now.
| Misleading claim or feature | TruthCase™ principle |
|---|---|
| “99% protection everywhere” from a fabric swatch | Orientation & duty cycle rule reality. Put the shield between you & the phone; teach habits. |
| Metal loops, magnet plates, thick 360° wraps | Don’t detune antennas. Phones raise transmit power to hold the link. |
| Large unshielded ear-side speaker hole | Maintain continuity at the ear. No big aperture where you need reduction most. |
| Vague or no usage guidance | Teach the playbook. Calling posture, pocket orientation, distance, night discipline. |
Tick any that apply to your current case.
Act now: enforce Public Law 90-602, complete the FCC court remand, and restore local rights by repealing §704. Pilot Li-Fi (IEEE 802.11bb) indoors.
SAR is thermal compliance; real exposure depends on orientation, duty cycle, simultaneous radios, signal quality, and antenna efficiency.
Open a phone’s panels, flip Cellular-only ↔ Simultaneous, share instantly.
Open SAR Share →Main panels, animated SAR (GIF), separate Head/Body, and compare images.
Open gallery →Filter by brand/year; compare six positions to spot outliers.
Open rankings →Auto toggles Cellular-only ↔ Simultaneous for 5-yr, 10-yr, adult.
Open kids view →Generate a GIF flipping Cellular-only ↔ Simultaneous for your phone.
Create GIF →Pre-rendered PNG with six tests side-by-side; open/download/copy.
Open compare →Share-ready panel per model; quick links into Kids and A-vs-B tools.
Open single panel →Peer-reviewed studies and policy docs. Build your evidence path.
Open research →§704 gags communities from weighing health in siting. Restore local voice.
Open 704 page →D.C. Circuit deemed the 2019 decision “arbitrary & capricious.” Finish it.
Open FCC page →Restart a public RF research program; inform standards.
Open HHS page →Shift indoor bandwidth to light; reduce indoor RF load.
Open Light-First →Visualize anthropogenic fill of the cavity; why re-quieting matters.
Open →U.S. SAR 1.6 W/kg over 1 g; EU 2.0 W/kg over 10 g. Heat-only metrics miss modulation & long-term biology.
Consistent OS findings at non-thermal intensities, typically pulsed/modulated.
Animal cancer certainty strongest for heart schwannomas; male fertility SR shows adverse signals (corrigendum 2025).
Multiple radios + poor RF → higher UE transmit power.
No slogans. Real exposure depends on orientation, antenna behavior, duty cycle.
They can detune antennas; phones raise power to hold the link.
Yes — antenna-aware, ohmmeter-verifiable, usage-guided.
Distance (speaker/wired), avoid pockets, shorter on-head calls, no nightstand phones.